What a camera can see in a push press
A push press uses a short leg dip to start the bar and then presses it out overhead, finishing with the legs straight. Two identity checks hold that definition in place: there must be measurable hip travel, or the rep is a strict press, and the knees must be nearly straight at the finish, or the athlete re-bent to receive the bar and the rep is a push jerk. From the side the camera resolves the elbow angle at lockout, the time taken by the drive, and how far the trunk leaned — the three criteria that carry most of the score.
How ScoreRep scores a push press
The rubric declares 4 scored criteria. The strongest single camera angle is the left side view. Every criterion below is available from that angle.
The score is the points earned divided by the points the recorded angle could support, so a clip filmed from a limited angle is never quietly marked down for what the camera could not see. At least 60% of the applicable weight has to be measured before a result is ranked at all.
| Criterion | Points | Measured from the athlete’s pose | Full marks when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead lockout | 30 | elbow angle in the finish position | 165° or more |
| Leg drive | 25 | time taken by the lifting phase | 0.7s or less |
| Torso stability | 25 | largest torso lean away from vertical | 15° or less |
| Eccentric control | 20 | ratio of lowering time to lifting time | 0.6 or more |
Criteria that depend on the camera angle
These criteria are excluded, not estimated, when the recorded angle cannot support them. That is why the same set filmed twice from different positions can produce two valid scores out of two different totals.
- Torso stability — needs a left side, right side, left oblique and right oblique view.
Does this push press rep count?
ScoreRep answers that in two separate steps. First, the clip has to read as a push press at all: every check in the table below has to pass, and a reading the camera could not take counts as a fail, never as a pass. A clip that fails is returned unranked with the reason attached, rather than scored low against the wrong rubric, and no template can override a failed check.
Second, the scoring criteria award points. Falling short of a full-marks threshold costs points, not the rep. Every number here is read from version 2 of the push press rubric, the same file the scoring engine runs.
- Compare the push press standard with the other 29 movements on the movement standards page.
- How the rep counter decides between a valid rep and a no-rep, station by station.
| Reading | Has to be | Otherwise rejected because |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the hands finish above the shoulders | yes | the bar never reaches an overhead position |
| Vertical travel of the hips across the rep | 0.03 or more | there is no leg dip, which reads as a strict press rather than a push press |
| Smallest knee angle in the rep | 115° or more | the bar is received in a squat, which reads as a push jerk rather than a push press |
| Elbow angle in the starting position | 120° or less | the bar is not in the front rack at the start |
| Knee angle in the finish position | 150° or more | the knees are still bent at the finish, which reads as a push jerk rather than a push press |
What the recording has to contain
Eligibility decides whether a result can enter a leaderboard. Failing it does not block the feedback — the clip is still scored and returned, but marked unranked with the reason attached, so a bad camera position never silently becomes a bad score.
- A pose has to be detected in at least 55% of the frames.
- The camera angle has to be one of: left side, right side, left oblique, right oblique, front and back.
- At least 1 complete repetition has to be detected.
What is deliberately not scored
Identity, repetition counting, eligibility and the score are derived only from the athlete’s pose. Measurements that come from tracking an external object — the path of a barbell, for example — are drawn on the review overlay but are deliberately outside the scoring contract, so they never affect the number.
Reading the result
The drive criterion is scored on time, not on height, which means a push press that looks powerful but starts slowly will score below one that looks modest and moves immediately. That is deliberate: the phone cannot measure how much weight is on the bar, so it measures the thing it can see honestly. Compare drive times within one athlete and one camera position rather than between athletes.
A technique score is educational feedback about visible movement. It cannot tell you whether a load is safe for your joints, whether pain means something, or whether a programme suits you. Those judgements need a coach or clinician who knows your history.